Crimson Thread of Fate
by secret.game
Summary: Two very different beings encounter with an unknown purpose set by destiny. With twists and turns, this “crimson thread of fate” ties these two beings together with an unbreakable bond.
1. Chapter 1 Poison

Chapter 1 - Poison

Cold. It was so cold.

The sharp chill of wind pierced Sesshoumaru's skin painfully as he got up from his previous position of laying helplessly on the forest floor. Not only was it cold, but it was dark as well, and his untrained eyes made it hard to make out his cruel enemy in the darkness.

For the past twenty minutes now, he had been fleeing from and dodging the snake demon's attacks, his own poison clawed attacks seemingly fruitless in the effort, but he had figured that out long before, and he kept on trying, finding that the snake demon just wouldn't stop lunging at him.

Sesshoumaru's face was covered in a thin layer of sweat – even as a full inu-youkai, he still couldn't strike the demon one good time. It had become a pattern now - the demon attacked, he jumped. Attack, jump; attack, jump. His legs had developed pain in them from the constant effort, and Sesshoumaru found that with each passing dodge, he was getting slower and slower. This was not good.

Sesshoumaru had sped briskly through the cold autumn night, leaping and running toward his foe. His brow was furrowed; eyes narrowed; mind set on his absolute goal.

There was a snake demon in his lands, the western lands. Sesshoumaru had heard from rumours spreading throughout the castle that the demon had two jewel shards which made it undeniably fast and just as truthfully strong. He had also heard that it had been shamelessly slaughtering the others who lived in the western lands - and to Sesshoumaru, that did not go over well.

He sensed the snake demon's presence long ago, and had been quickly and quietly following it ever since, but as he neared the other demon, he found that another presence came into his senses – his brother's group.

Finally realizing he had had enough. He leapt forward into the air swiftly and silently, drawing Toukijin from its sheathe and holding it steadily in front of him. When he reached the unknowing snake demon, he swiped the blade downward, cutting it forcefully through the demon's flesh and bone.

Kagome's lower lip shook.

Soon, though, she got over her fear - after a quick study of the lord, she found that he wasn't paying attention to her at all. Neither was the snake demon - his eyes had locked onto the bigger, stronger newcomer. That was good. He hadn't noticed she was there yet.

Kagome quickly took this shining opportunity. Not wasting any time, she ran as fast as she could behind the demon and picked up her bow and arrow.

Kagome hadn't quite realized how slow she was being until she actually took a look at the battle going on. The snake demon was bleeding profusely, but it seemed to be okay - it continually lunged at Sesshoumaru, who was dodging as best he could.

Then, suddenly, one of the snake's attacks hit, sinking sharply into the junction of Sesshoumaru's shoulder. Kagome gasped and covered her mouth, mentally cursing herself for possibly drawing attention. But as it turned out, neither of them paid any attention to her, and she calmed herself. Squinting in the darkness, she could see that Sesshoumaru had been hit quite a few times - he was bleeding absolute rivers down both of his legs, and the arm that had once been cut off (which seemed to have regenerated itself somehow) was bleeding just as profusely.

And just as suddenly as the last attack had hit, the snake's tail spanned out and the sharp spikes on it hit Sesshoumaru in the sides. Kagome heard a slight, low grunt of pain from Sesshoumaru, and she watched, frightened, as he fell to his knees.

All of Kagome's instincts screamed at her to run - neither of the demons noticed her, so she could get away as best she could. She could return to safety. She could return to Inuyasha. But there was no such luck, her body did not obey her instincts' commands. She couldn't just leave Sesshoumaru there, could she? _'Yes I can,'_ Kagome thought desperately. _'I hate him. He hates me. I can leave him here!_'

But still, Kagome's feet wouldn't obey her commands. She started sweating, and she looked away and then back at Sesshoumaru. _'I can't just leave him here.. Not while he's hurt..' _she thought to herself, biting her lower lip. While naïve, Kagome had a heart of gold, and if there was somebody who needed to be helped - well, she would help them… and she always did. It was just her way.

But did it have to be _Sesshoumaru?_

'_You can do this, Kagome. You can do it,'_ She told herself inwardly, eyebrows furrowed in desperation. Quickly, she studied the demon for a spot of weakness.

There! In his tail! There were two jewel shards. Kagome could sense them easily, and she also noticed that the tail was almost cut clean off already. Closing one eye and raising her bow, she aligned an arrow with the string and aimed. The snake demon was poised and ready to strike at Sesshoumaru again, which Kagome assumed would be a fatal blow - if she didn't interfere first. She took another few seconds to make sure her aim was exactly precise, and then let go of the arrow, letting it fly cleanly into the demon's tail.

As luck would have it, her shot was perfect. The arrow cut off what was left of the snake's tail, leaving a dismembered limb on the ground - and two jewel shards along with it. Kagome looked to Sesshoumaru, who glared icily back at her, and then nodded determinedly. As Sesshoumaru painfully raised himself to his feet, Kagome ran quickly to collect the jewel shards, finding that her strength and speed had been renewed.

By the time Kagome turned around, she found that the job of killing the demon had already been done - Sesshoumaru had done it quickly and easily since the tail had been broken off. Kagome beamed happily at this new revelation, then opened her mouth and turned to where she last saw Sesshoumaru, then inhaled a sharp gasp.

Sesshoumaru was lying on the forest floor, his breathing shallow. From his wounds spilled dark, crimson blood; stains covering the bright white of his haori. He slowly and weakly plunged his Toukijin, which he was still grasping as tightly as he could, into the blood-soaked ground, trying to use it as a crutch to bring himself to his feet.

"Sesshoumaru--" Kagome said hesitantly and with concern. Her twinkling blue eyes caught his emotionless gold ones, and she reached out to him. His grip on Toukijin wavered, and Sesshoumaru fell breathlessly to the ground, sinking unwillingly into the black oblivion of unconsciousness.


	2. Chapter 2 Healing

Chapter 2 - Healing

Kagome, who had brought her back pack on what was supposed to be her walk, eagerly ran to its resting place at the edge of the circle of trees. As soon as she saw its blindingly yellow material, she grabbed it, and despite its heavy weight, she began sprinting just as quickly and desperately back to where Sesshoumaru lay unconscious on the ground.

Kneeling down next to his seemingly lifeless body, Kagome glanced over him with concern. He was bleeding heavily - there was a huge pool of blood beneath his body, and Kagome winced at it. Despite her lengthy travels with Inuyasha and the wounds that came with it, she still didn't enjoy the sight of blood. With all the battles she had participated in, she knew fully well what it felt like to have a painful wound that bled freely. To say in the least, it wasn't a very nice feeling. So anytime Kagome saw someone with a large wound, she generally felt sorry for them. The sight of blood still sent cold shivers up and down her spine.

Kagome jumped into action. She fumbled through her bag for a cloth, and after a few seemingly long-lasting seconds, she found one. Instantly after that, Kagome pulled a new water bottle from its place in the side pocket of her back pack. Her attempt to open it was quick, and because of its quick carelessness, she fumbled the bottle the first time. Quickly retrieving it, Kagome opened it a little slower. Rewarded with the telltale snap of success, she soaked the cloth in water.

All through the while that Kagome was doing those things, she was wincing in pain – the times that she hadn't dodged the snake's attacks were taking their toll on her, and she could feel the blood from her wounds (which were much smaller than Sesshoumaru's, but still painful) soaking the shirt of her school uniform. Other than the quick winces, however, Kagome ignored the pain.

Kagome was about to try to clean Sesshoumaru's wounds when she realized that he was entirely covered from head to toe with his kimono. Her eyes fell half-lidded in annoyance, and she contemplated what to do, thoughts running back and forth in her head.

Eventually, she decided that it would be best if she simply removed his haori shirt. Of course, there wasn't _anything_ simple about it: As innocent as Kagome's intentions were, she still couldn't get over the fact that she would be _stripping_ Inuyasha's brother.

Kagome decided that it would be well near impossible for her to, ahem; remove Sesshoumaru's haori without him at least in a sitting position. She sighed warily when realizing that it was her job to make him be in said position.

'_This isn't going to be easy,'_ she decided then she tried to push him up. Sesshoumaru, especially with his heavy kimono, wasn't exactly easy to lift. _'Thank God his armor already broke off,'_ Kagome thought to herself, trying again to lift him from his position laying face-down.

It wouldn't have been that hard if it wasn't for his wounds, which Kagome was trying desperately to avoid touching. It was extremely challenging to avoid them, because no matter how hard Kagome wished them to go away, they remained on all of Sesshoumaru's body.

'_Okay, Kagome,'_ she thought desperately to herself, _'You can do this. Just push him up. He's unconscious and won't feel any pain. Do it…now!'_ So, goaded and guided by her own thoughts, Kagome pushed Sesshoumaru up, this time not bothering to avoid his wounds. She gasped and almost let go when the man made a small grunting sound, but she held on tightly, regaining her composure and pushing him up against the nearest tree.

It was then that she noticed Sesshoumaru's face had been untouched; free from being marred by anything but the dirt from the ground that he once laid upon. Even though it was dirty, Kagome decided that Sesshoumaru had the face of an angel – indeed; it looked like he had descended from the heavens. But contrary to what he looked like, Kagome's past experiences with Sesshoumaru let her know that he was definitely **not** an angel.

Shaking her head to clear her mind of the useless and superfluous thoughts of Sesshoumaru's face, Kagome went straight to work, blushing furiously as she untied his belt. _'Its okay, Kagome,'_ she told herself unsurely, _'His pants are staying on. It's just his top. He'll just be shirtless. It's just like seeing someone in a bathing suit. It's just like…'_ Her thoughts continued along that pattern as she pulled the bottom of Sesshoumaru's haori up from its spot beneath the belt, then separated the sides. Kagome slowly and carefully slipped it off of his shoulders, leaving it there – not fully off, but not fully on, either. Still, it was enough to maintain the strawberry blush that marred her cheeks.

She swallowed almost painfully, thoroughly embarrassed by her own actions. No matter how many times Kagome had stripped Inuyasha to clean his wounds, she was still a virgin, and it still felt _weird._ Especially since the man who was being unclothed was Inuyasha's _brother,_ a man who Kagome's entire group had gotten accustomed to hating.

Kagome gasped loudly when she saw the true extent of Sesshoumaru's wounds. They stretched all around the front of his body, gashed deeply in him, covered in sticky dried blood. The bleeding seemed to have calmed down, but had not stopped, and Kagome knew that if the wounds went any longer without being cleaned, they would most likely get infected.

So Kagome got straight to work. She leaned over Sesshoumaru's body, one hand on the ground steadying her. She worked on the abdomen wound first, pressing down only slightly and then pressing harder, firmly cleaning the wound as well as she could.

Kagome guessed that it had taken a full 10 minutes to get the majority of the blood cleaned away from Sesshoumaru's stomach by the time she was done, and now that she was getting used to her work, she gingerly began to clean the wounds on his shoulders. By now, though, the cloth was absolutely soaking in Sesshoumaru's blood, and she glanced around the milieu.

There, glittering in the dim light of the moon was a large river running in between the trees! Kagome smacked herself in the head; how could she be so stupid as to not notice it? So again, she began running - all the while wincing in pain - to where the crisp and clear river was. She put the cloth in the river, quickly kneading it and washing it, watching as the demon's blood flowed away from where it once rested in the cloth.

When the cloth was at least suitably clean, Kagome wrung it out, making it damp rather than soaking. Running again, which she was most certainly getting sick of, she returned to Sesshoumaru's side and began wiping away at his shoulder. The still-wet blood was easy to clear away - however, the blood that had dried around the wound was not so easy, and Kagome had to rub his skin firmly with the cloth to lift it.

When satisfied with her job well-done, she put the cloth down on the ground and stretched her arms, yawning while she did so. She was indeed tired, but there was no time to sleep now - she had to finish her job, her very, very **annoying** job, first.

Blushing again, Kagome's eyes fell to Sesshoumaru's legs. There were wounds there, they were bleeding through the pants of his kimono. To get at them, she would have to… _'I have to...' _She paused, and then shook her head speedily. No, no, she would just bandage the wounds she had already cleaned first. Yes, that's what she would do. _'I'll just put it off for as long as I can,'_ Kagome thought innocently, with an equally innocent roll of her eyes.

Kagome leaned over and reached for her yellow back pack, quickly groping through it to find her set of bandages. _'I know I have them somewhere… ah-ha!'_ She smiled proudly when she found them, unraveling them and preparing to put them on Sesshoumaru. When she had unraveled a suitable length of bandage, she tried to wrap it around Sesshoumaru's stomach, but found that she couldn't reach around to his left side while she was on his right. She sighed wearily, irritated with the predicament. _'What do I do…uh-oh.' _her eyes fell to his lap, and she shook her head. _'No! I am NOT going on STUPID Sesshoumaru's STUPID lap to tie his STUPID bandages! No freaking way!'_

She tried desperately again to reach around his back and get the bandage out the other side, but alas, her attempts were fruitless. It would have been easier if he didn't have wounds to avoid, but he did, and therefore it was difficult. After the third and final try, Kagome gave up, sighing and frowning with defeat. She stared at Sesshoumaru's lap, lips twitching at the corner a little. _'Ugh, do I have to..?'_ she whined inwardly, knowing fully well that the answer was a big, fat "yes".

Rolling her eyes, Kagome climbed onto his lap, straddling it. She was kneeling down, her own knees on either sides of his legs and her bum sitting just beyond his knees. _'This is so embarrassing..'_ she moaned. Kagome closed her eyes, breathing a small sigh, and then…

"Wench, what do you think you are doing?"


	3. Chapter 3 No One Deserves to Die

Chapter 3 – No One Deserves to Die

"Wench, what do you think you are doing?"

The words were cool, monotonous, and despite their low volume, they rang fiercely in Kagome's ears. Her eyes quickly opened and she looked up, her gaze greeted with the golden eyes of Sesshoumaru.

"Aah!" She exclaimed loudly, scrambling backwards off of Sesshoumaru's legs. Kagome blushed fiercely, a deep shade of red marring her cheeks, and she began to stutter.

"I-- I--"

"Worthless human; answer my question!"

Kagome stood up quickly and dusted her skirt off, blushing. Knowing the way things had been turning out, he probably saw her underwear or something. Now THAT would be a problem.

"I was bandaging your wounds." She said with as loud of a voice as she could muster, which wasn't very loud at all.

"I do not need a filthy _human_ to help me," he replied with slight anger, rage pooling in his amber eyes.

"Without this _filthy human,_" Kagome began, "The snake demon wouldn't have died, and you'd be thoroughly screwed."

"Silence, wench." Sesshoumaru commanded. His voice wasn't loud, but it was determined, and Kagome could tell that there was no room left for argument. "I do not need bandaging from a human such as you." Sesshoumaru, to prove his point if for nothing else, feebly attempted to get up onto his feet. He was rewarded with pain, immense pain, and he suppressed a distressed grunt, but stood up eventually. "As you can see, _human,_ I do not need your help."

Kagome's eyes narrowed. What a jerk! She had only been trying to help him, and he takes **this** kind of an attitude with her. "Oh, you don't need my help? Try walking, then," she said evenly, giving a voice of feigned sweetness with a malicious undertone.

Sesshoumaru gave her the coldest, iciest glare he could muster, and after pausing for a moment, attempted to walk away from her. Again, he felt extreme, searing pain, and his legs collapsed from under him.

Despite that Kagome's point had been proven, she still felt bad for the demon, and rushed eagerly to his side. "Sesshoumaru, are you okay? You shouldn't be walking, you should stay and heal for a while; I can--"

"I do NOT need your help, wench." Sesshoumaru seethed, desperately trying to get back up without having Kagome notice that he actually WAS trying desperately. When he failed, he gave up, staying on the ground. He turned a cold glare Kagome's way.

"Shut up, you jerk! You DO need my help! And I have a _name_, you know! It's Kagome! Not 'human', not 'wench', but Kagome! Ka-go-me!"

"Silence," He said simply, apparently not intimidated by the sharp glare she sent his way. "I will call you by your name when you have earned my respect. And for now, you do not have it."

Kagome rolled her eyes. Was he _always_ going to be this hard to deal with? She sighed in defeat, her shoulders slumping. "Look, Sesshoumaru.. I am going to ask you nicely: Will you please let me bandage you up? If I don't, the wounds will get infected, and you'll be even worse off than before. Please." her eyes softened, and she looked at him hopefully. Sesshoumaru saw the expectance in her gaze, irritated by it, and his eyes narrowed.

"Very well," he said finally, defeated.

"Good boy," Kagome said shortly, and patted him on the head.

"_Wench!_ I will not be treated like a common household PE-- What do you think you are doing?"

Kagome looked up from her resting spot on Sesshoumaru's lap and tilted her head. "Look, I don't like this position any more than you do. But we have to be in it, so just.. Shut up."

'_Shut up!'_ the demon lord thought angrily, seething beneath his emotionless stare. '_The woman told me to shut up!'_

"Wench, I will no longer tolerate such insolence. I should kill you where you stand," he said coldly, meeting his gaze with hers.

"First of all, I'm sitting," Kagome quipped, then continued with "And second, I practically saved your life. So shouldn't you be, like, honor-bound to me or something?"

Sesshoumaru paused. While naïve and far too trusting, the girl was apparently not stupid. Being a human, she was definitely not smart, but not stupid nonetheless.

Sometime between when they were talking and when Kagome was working, Sesshoumaru's eyes had closed. He felt some sort of…calmness from her gentle work. Her touches were soft and feather-light, skilled, but somehow cautious. All in all, it didn't feel _too_ appalling.

But he would never admit that to anyone.

He then noticed that Kagome was blushing furiously. Having a pretty good idea why, he asked, "Human, why are you so flustered?"

Kagome looked at him, turned a deeper shade of red, and then continued on.

Sesshoumaru caught both her wrists in a sudden movement, and pushed her down to the ground, moving slightly on top of her. Kagome's breath had stilled, and Sesshoumaru spoke once more.

"Wench, when I ask a question of you, I expect an answer…" he said. Then to Kagome's surprise, he smiled maliciously, "or could it be that I am moving you to excitement?"

Kagome, if even possible, turned even redder as she turned her head away from the demon lord. His smile faded as he released her and settled back down allowing her to finish her medical care, all the while with her beet-red face.

When she finished with his abdomen, Kagome climbed quickly off of Sesshoumaru's lap, eager and happy to have gotten away from the rather _awkward_ position. Sesshoumaru, however, despite the burden that was being near a worthless human, found his legs to be somewhat cold after she departed from her place on top of them.

Kagome did the same with Sesshoumaru's arms, wrapping the bandages firmly but gently; expertly and skillfully.

"Err…There are wounds on your legs, too…" Kagome said hesitantly, giving Sesshoumaru an unsure gaze. Sesshoumaru knew exactly what she was getting at, and his eyes narrowed.

"They are but minor wounds. They will be fine."

"Suit yourself," Kagome complied, grateful for an excuse not to see him without pants as well. "Would you like something to eat?" she continued, rummaging through her bag for something edible. Grateful to find a few packs of ramen and some cookies, she poured the rest of her water bottle into one of the small pots in her bag, and then set it aside. After that, Kagome proceeded to pick up dead sticks from the ground, throwing them carelessly into a pile where there was no grass.

"I do not eat _human_ food," Sesshoumaru stated condescendingly, glaring at Kagome from behind. Kagome sighed. It was always about the humans, wasn't it?

"Look. When you're healing, you need food. It fuels your body and speeds up the process. It's just cookies and ramen - it's not like I'm feeding you poison."

"I could detect any poison you gave me, wench," Sesshoumaru countered, feeling more and more agitated by the minute.

He was extremely irritated. Him - Sesshoumaru - at the mercy of a filthy human! It was unthinkable! Preposterous! How on earth had it ended up like this?

His eyes remained on Kagome, watching intently. He saw that she had taken a small stick out of her strange-looking bag, and cast it against the box it came out of. Suddenly, the small stick lit on fire!

"What kind of sorcery is this!" He demanded, trying to suppress the emotion in his voice.

"It's a match," Kagome said casually, throwing the 'match' carelessly into the pile of sticks. "It's for lighting fires. It's not sorcery at all."

"Where did you get it?"

"At my home."

"And where is your home?"

"Tokyo."

Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed and he turned his head, still looking at her through the corner of his eyes. "I have never heard of this Toh-kee-yo."

"It's very far away," Kagome commented, deciding that the whole 'future' thing was a story best left for another time.

Kagome sat down beside the newly blazing fire, opening the packs of ramen and setting them inside the water-filled pot. She then put the pot right next to the fire, where the heat from the aforementioned fire would make the water boil.

Kagome sighed and leaned back, hands on the ground behind her to support her weight. Eyes falling to the forest floor, she wondered sadly where Inuyasha and the others were. Were they looking for her? Did they even notice she was gone yet? It was just before dawn, so they were probably still all sleeping.

Leaning forward and placing her hands in her lap, Kagome winced painfully. She had a large gash on her upper abdomen which she still hadn't cleaned yet. To put it bluntly, it hurt like hell.

"What ails you, human?" Sesshoumaru asked without concern, more out of curiosity than anything else.

"Nothing, Sesshoumaru," Kagome replied warmly. "Don't worry."

"I never said I was worrying," he scoffed, "I simply noticed your wince."

"Well, thank you for your concern…" (He scoffed at that, too) "…But I'm just fine. I have a few minor wounds, that's all."

"Then I shall bandage them."

"Umm… What?" Kagome said monotonously, eyes half-lidded and sort of crossed. She stared at him with raised eyebrows, wondering if she had heard wrong.

"Stupid human," he commented irritably. "This Sesshoumaru will bandage your wounds. You have done the same for me, and as you said before, I am honor-bound."

"Okaaaay…" Kagome said slowly, giving him a look that could only be described as strange. "Uhh, you realize that my wounds are UNDER my shirt, right? And I really don't feel like getting naked for a--"

"Silence," Sesshoumaru commanded quietly. "Did you not remove my haori without my permission?"

"I was helping," Kagome protested with a whine.

"And now I am helping you."

Kagome sighed. This was not going to be easy. The demon lord, though quiet, was unnaturally stubborn - probably about as stubborn as she, which meant that it would go nowhere. "Okay, Sesshoumaru," she began, folding her hands together. "While I may have…err…Undressed you, the fact remains that I am a girl, and girls do not generally want to be seen shirtless. I have my…um, assets to protect, you know."

The nerve of that girl! Sesshoumaru seethed beneath the cover of his emotionless visage, giving a small growl. "You think this Sesshoumaru is interested in seeing your worthless body?"

"Calling me worthless isn't going to get you any closer to bandaging me up," she snapped, crossing her arms.

It was then that Sesshoumaru decided to actually _look _at the human. He had seen her before, of course, and watched her, but he decided to actually get a good look.

She had grown slightly taller since the last time they had met, but was still quite short compared to him. Her long, well-kept black hair reached past her shoulders, falling down her neck in soft waves. She had piercing blue eyes, which were unnaturally shiny and filled with emotion, especially since she was so angry with him at the time.

The girl's clothing was indecent to say in the least; her skirt being much higher above the knee than any other kimono he had seen any woman wear. She had a strange-looking top on, white with a sort of green tie around the neck. He wasn't quite complaining about the skirt, as it **did** give him a view of her finely-shaped legs -- Finely-shaped for a **human**, at least.

Another thing Sesshoumaru noticed was that she seemed to have, ahem, _developed_ since the last time they had met. She filled her strange kimono out more now, the simple white fabric falling more tightly over her soft curves. She didn't look _horrible_… At least, for a human.

"Human!" Sesshoumaru spat bitterly, "I will tolerate no more of your insolence! I am returning my debt that I owe to you!"

"You owe me nothing," Kagome countered with annoyance. "I helped you because it was the right thing to do."

"No one helps others when they do not think they will get something in return, Ka-go-me," he said, spitting her name with distaste.

"Well then I guess I'm the first," she said, more calmly than the last time. "I helped you because no rational being deserves to die. Not even you."

Sesshoumaru silenced at that, wondering exactly what this woman meant. He sniffed the air delicately, finding no spike in her scent from a lie. So she had helped him with genuinely no interest in getting repaid? She was an odd girl, to say in the least. No regular human was so selfless. 'All humans are worthless,' he reminded himself. 'And she is no different.' It did not matter if she was selfless or nice to him… After all, to Sesshoumaru, she was just a filthy human. None the less, he was going to pay her back…


	4. Chapter 4 Disturbance and Tears

Chapter 4 – Disturbance and Tears

Kagome sighed as she packed her bag with her medical supplies, heaved it on to her shoulder, and glanced back at the now treated Demon Lord. Sesshoumaru scoffed and got up, refusing to give in to the pain and to let a _human_ see him like he was…weak.

He then half heartedly bowed slightly to Kagome, who shocked to say the least, but bowed back. She then straightened up, and with a turn on a heel, she quietly, yet quickly left him in the clearing. He had a sudden urge to go after for a split second, but stopped.

"What am I doing?" he questioned him self while watching Kagome leave, "Why do I feel a need towards her. A human; Inuyasha's wench no less." Sesshoumaru scolded himself for a few moments then turned and walked slowly dropping the thought away, at least into the back of his mind. Right now he had to worry about—

Sesshoumaru stopped dead in his tracks. Of course—the miko would help him. No matter how aggravating at times she may have seemed, surely she wouldn't let down Rin.

She had been sick for two weeks now, and seemingly not getting any better, he was starting to worry. He remembered how Rin told him that the miko had looked after her on one or two occasions when their paths crossed, and Rin was always healthy. That and Kagome had always carried medical supplies with her in that strange yellow bag of hers. Yes he would have to ask her. He turned and started walking towards the route that Kagome had taken. For Rin's sake, he had to get the wench to see her, and if possible, let him pay his dues.

Meanwhile:

Kagome shook her head once more.

"What was I thinking?" Kagome scolded herself once more, "I shouldn't have helped him. Then again, I guess it was the right thing to do. Even if he is an enemy of Inuyasha…does that make him one of mine as well?" Kagome sighed. "Well at least it's over, and I can finally go to bed…"

Kagome then looked up. There was a voice—voices up ahead. She walked a little more cautiously now, coming to a bush. She paused for a moment, "This is crazy," she thought. Then she looked past it, only to have herself wishing she hadn't.

"Come now, Inuyasha," Kikyo said in her usual composed voice, "Do you honestly think that you could love both of us? I am sorry, but I will not share your heart with that girl. It's me or her Inuyasha. Choose who you desire."

"Kikyo…I…I will love you forever; with all my heart."

Inuyasha embraced Kikyo, as she did him.

However, inside Kagome, her heart broke. She didn't want to watch anymore. She just wanted to get away. 'Run away,' her mind told her. She got up with tears in her eyes, looking down and running blindly.

'How could you Inuyasha?'

Kagome then came to an abrupt halt as she ran into something hard; rock solid that made her fall back on her butt.

"What is the meaning of this wench?" said a familiar cold voice. Kagome looked up and saw Sesshoumaru. The demonic lord was taken back slightly at the sight of her tears, but kept his cool mask on.

"I'm not going to ask again miko," he said once more, "why have you come across me in such a rude manner, and why are you crying?"

"Just leave me alone," she said as she got up and started to run past him. Sesshoumaru caught a hold of her arm and made her turn and face him, allowing him to get a better look into her eyes. All her could see was betrayal and pain.

"My half-breed for a brother went to see the dead woman, didn't he?" Sesshoumaru asked. Kagome turned away. "The fool. He can't even remain loyal to the one he's mated with."

"INUYASHA IS NOT MY MATE! HE IS THE FARTHEST THING FROM A HUSBAND AND I DON'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT HIM EVER AGAIN!!!" Kagome screamed as she beat against Sesshoumaru's chest.

Finally, exhausted she fell to ground to her knees. Sesshoumaru studied her for a moment or two.

"Will you come with me?" Sesshoumaru asked.

Kagome just looked at him.

Kk…Sorry it took so long and I PROMISE chapter 5 will be much longer. (I'm already working on it.)


End file.
